All posts by Roshan Polekar

How to Run a Successful Fund Raising Campaign: A Step-by-Step Guide

Agile & Scrum, Best Practices

Fundraising is the lifeline of countless initiatives, from non-profits tackling global challenges to startups on the brink of groundbreaking innovations. A successful campaign isn’t just about raising funds; it’s about forging meaningful connections, earning trust, and delivering value to both donors and beneficiaries.

Without a clear planning, handling donor relationships, managing timelines, and coordinating team efforts can quickly spiral into chaos. Missed follow-ups, misaligned goals, and scattered data are common hurdles that can turn even the most promising campaigns into overwhelming tasks. 

In this guide, we’ll show you how to organize your campaign efficiently, address potential obstacles, and stay on track every step of the way. With practical tips and structured management techniques, you’ll have everything you need to drive a successful campaign from start to finish.

So let’s start with practical steps that will help you and your team stay focused, hit milestones, and keep campaigns on track.

Effectively manage your next fundraising campaign with Kerika's visual task board. This example showcases the key steps, such as brainstorming ideas, planning events, securing approvals, and managing active campaigns. Improve organization, communication, and overall campaign success with Kerika's intuitive platform

Review this fund raising campaign board

Essential Steps For Executing a Successful Fundraising Campaign

Executing a successful fundraising campaign involves meticulous planning, strategic execution, and continuous evaluation. Below are essential steps to guide you through the process:

1. Define Clear Objectives

Start by establishing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your campaign. Determine what you aim to achieve, whether it’s funding a particular project, expanding services, or covering operational costs. Clear objectives provide direction and a benchmark for success.

According to Smart Insights, applying the SMART framework to your marketing objectives ensures they are well-defined and achievable, leading to more effective campaigns.

  • Watch Out For: Ambiguity in goals or shifting priorities that can make it difficult to track progress.

2. Assemble a Dedicated Team

Form a committee comprising staff, volunteers, and stakeholders who are passionate about your cause. Assign roles based on individual strengths, such as donor outreach, event planning, or marketing. A committed team ensures tasks are managed efficiently and fosters a sense of shared purpose.

  • Watch Out For: Team members feeling overwhelmed or confused about their responsibilities, which can lead to delays or missed deadlines.

3. Conduct a Feasibility Study

Before launching, assess the viability of your campaign. According to CampaignCounsel.org, conducting a feasibility study is crucial for determining the potential success of a large-scale fundraising initiative. It helps organizations gauge donor interest, assess community support, and set achievable campaign goals

  • Watch Out For: Gaps in research that can lead to overly ambitious targets or under-prepared teams.

4. Develop a Comprehensive Plan

Create a detailed roadmap outlining strategies, timelines, and resources needed. Incorporate various fundraising methods, such as events, online campaigns, and grant applications. A well-structured plan serves as a blueprint, guiding your team through each phase of the campaign.

  • Watch Out For: Over-reliance on static plans that don’t account for unexpected changes.

5. Craft a Compelling Narrative

Tell a story that resonates with potential donors. Highlight the problem, your solution, and the impact of their contribution. Emotional and relatable narratives can significantly enhance donor engagement and motivation. 

  • Watch Out For: Inconsistent messaging across different platforms, which could weaken engagement.

6. Identify and Segment Your Audience

Analyze your donor base to identify key segments, such as individuals, corporations, or foundations. Tailor your messaging and approach to each group’s interests and capacity to give. Personalized communication increases the likelihood of successful solicitations. As BonterraTech highlights, donor segmentation allows organizations to deliver tailored messages that resonate with donors, increasing engagement and long-term support.

  • Watch Out For: Relying on outdated donor data or failing to personalize outreach efforts.

7. Implement a Soft Launch

Begin with a soft launch targeting loyal supporters to build initial momentum. This phase allows you to gather feedback, address any issues, and create a sense of progress before the public launch. Early success can also leverage social proof to attract additional donors. 

  • Watch Out For: Overlooking the importance of gathering early feedback, which can lead to unresolved issues during the public phase.

8. Utilize Multichannel Marketing

Promote your campaign across various platforms, including social media, email newsletters, and traditional media. Consistent messaging across channels maximizes reach and reinforces your campaign’s presence. 

  • Watch Out For: Disconnected campaigns that fail to synchronize communications, potentially confusing or alienating donors.

9. Engage and Acknowledge Donors

Maintain open communication with donors throughout the campaign. Provide updates on progress, express gratitude, and demonstrate the impact of their contributions. Recognizing donors fosters loyalty and encourages future support.

  • Watch Out For: Lack of timely communication or generic follow-ups that don’t feel personal.

10. Monitor Progress and Adapt

Regularly review your campaign’s performance against set milestones. Use data analytics to assess which strategies are effective and which need adjustment. Being flexible and responsive ensures the campaign remains on track and goals are met.

  • Watch Out For: Teams sticking rigidly to initial plans, even when adjustments could yield better results.

Executing a successful fundraising campaign requires more than just following the right steps. Without proper coordination, tracking, and collaboration, even the most well-planned efforts can lose momentum. As your campaign progresses, donor outreach will grow, tasks will increase, deadlines may overlap, and maintaining clear communication with both donors and internal teams will be crucial.

This is why the right tools are essential. They help you manage donor relations, prioritize key activities, and monitor progress effectively. With these tools, you can streamline donor information, avoid missed opportunities, and make data-driven decisions that maximize your fundraising potential.

Using The Right Tools

With your campaign plan in place, the next step is ensuring that everything runs smoothly without the common issues we discussed. This is where a well-structured task management tool can make all the difference. 

Take a look at this board. It’s an example of how teams can efficiently manage every stage of a fundraising campaign while staying organized and on track.

The Kerika fundraising platform ensures the best results by centralizing every phase and task in one place. Track each team member's action items, increase action levels for those falling behind, and use an easy-to-read dashboard to quickly check up on task progress

Review this fund raising campaign board

This board is an example of how teams can simplify complex fundraising campaigns. Tasks like event planning, donor follow-ups, and budget approvals are broken down into clear categories, making it easy to see what’s in progress, what needs immediate attention, and what’s completed. 

When deadlines overlap or team members juggle multiple responsibilities, the board helps prioritize key fundraising activities, ensuring that no critical task is overlooked. The structure addresses common fundraising challenges by clearly assigning tasks related to donor outreach, proposal submissions, or campaign reviews. 

Each team member knows exactly what they are responsible for, and collaboration becomes seamless. Instead of chasing updates or searching through emails for information, the entire team can view progress in real time and make necessary adjustments without confusion.

This doesn’t just help with meeting deadlines. It eliminates bottlenecks by making task statuses visible to everyone. let’s take a step further and explore how this board supports better decision-making and enables your team to adapt quickly to changes.

Take a Closer Look at This Fundraising Campaign Board

Let’s dive deeper into how this board helps teams manage every detail of a fundraising campaign while keeping tasks and goals in clear focus. The key to its effectiveness lies in its simplicity and ability to adapt as the campaign evolves. By visualizing progress, organizing tasks, and streamlining team collaboration, it helps teams stay on track and adjust quickly when needed.

Customize fundraising tasks to create an efficient workflow by tailoring and managing columns within Kerika. Easily hide columns, reorder, add, or move a set of data to streamline campaigns from beginning to end. Use Kerika's action-focused features to create a custom and easily manageable work plan

Below, we’ll walk through each feature with examples to show how this board can make your fundraising campaign more efficient, productive, and stress-free.

1. Create Detailed Task Cards for Every Fundraising Activity

Plan out and track key fundraising tasks with Kerika! This image showcases how to incorporate objectives, team assignments, deadlines, and specific next steps. Visualize a better way to fundraise for your team or non-profit with highly customizable task cards

As shown in this task card, each activity is organized with essential details like objectives, team assignments, deadlines, and specific steps needed for completion. The card also integrates resources such as files, discussions, and updates, making it a central hub for everything related to the task.

These task cards improve fundraising efficiency by keeping all key information in one place, reducing confusion and the need for back-and-forth communication. Team members can work collaboratively, monitor progress, and stay on top of deadlines without wasting time searching for documents or updates across multiple platforms.

2. Customize Columns to Match Your Fundraising Workflow

Manage your action plan by customizing columns within the Kerika interface to reflect action items for every unique fund raising campaign. This will help you create a custom process for your individual campaigns, that will lead you to have the optimal performance for every event

In this board, you can see how each column is set up to represent different stages of the fundraising process, such as “Fundraising Ideas,” “Planning,” and “Active Campaigns.” With customizable settings, you can easily add, rename, or move columns, ensuring that the workflow adapts to your team’s unique needs.

These columns help streamline progress by clearly indicating where each task stands and what needs to happen next. Whether you’re brainstorming ideas or seeking approvals, organizing tasks by stages ensures that nothing gets stuck or forgotten. 

This flexibility makes it easy to manage shifting priorities and maintain a smooth, efficient flow throughout the campaign.

3. Zoom Out to Scan and Find Tasks Quickly

Get a bird's-eye view of your fundraising campaign with Kerika. This image shows the zoom-out feature, which displays task names only for quick scanning and identification. Easily visualize all stages of your fundraising campaign to quickly spot bottlenecks and ensure everything stays on track, making Kerika an invaluable tool for efficient campaign management

The zoom-out option, shown in the image, hides task details and displays only the task names. This view is ideal for scanning the entire board at a glance and locating specific tasks without scrolling through extensive details. It’s particularly useful when you need a quick overview of what’s happening across multiple stages.

This helps you save time by making it easy to find tasks, check the progress, and identify any pending activities. Whether you’re tracking an approval or verifying the status of a campaign, this simplified view keeps everything accessible and easy to navigate.

4. Manage Team Members and Share Access

The Kerika fundraising task board promotes secure team-based action plans by managing and assigning roles to every team member (such as Board Admin, Team Member, or Visitor) based on the requirements of the action item! Each team member can also have their own set of clear steps that are required for the project. No longer will your team members be confused about what to do

Here you can see the option to invite team members and assign roles such as Board Admin, Team Member, or Visitor. This feature ensures that everyone involved in the fundraising campaign has the right level of access based on their role, whether they are leading the campaign or providing occasional input.

By defining roles clearly, you avoid confusion and maintain control over sensitive information. Board Admins can manage tasks and team permissions, Team Members can collaborate and update progress, and Visitors can view progress without making changes. This structure ensures smooth collaboration and accountability while keeping your campaign secure and well-organized.

5. Use Board Chat for Team-Wide Discussions

Share information to maximize results for team members with Kerika. Kerika's streamlined action plans are much better than email threads that get lost! Keep vital discussions in one centralized location where everyone has access to action plan details and can collaborate effectively

The board chat feature is designed for general discussions that involve the entire team. Unlike task-specific chats, which focus on individual tasks, the board chat allows you to share updates, announcements, or feedback that everyone needs to see.

This feature helps keep general conversations separate from task-related details, reducing confusion and ensuring important updates are easy to find. Whether you’re sharing campaign milestones, addressing team-wide concerns, or brainstorming new ideas, board chat ensures the entire team stays in sync.

6. Share Files and Attachments Across the Whole Team

Enhance teamwork with effective file management within Kerika. Simply generate sharable links, or create shareable online documents with team members. These resources are then attached to your fundraising tasks! By centralizing resources with Kerika, teams spend less time searching and more time collaborating

The board attachment option allows you to upload or link important documents, spreadsheets, presentations, or online resources that are useful for the entire team. This is useful for files are available to everyone and aren’t tied to specific tasks.

This feature ensures that essential documents, such as fundraising plans, donor lists, and campaign reports, are easily accessible to all team members in one place. It eliminates the need to search through different platforms, keeping the team informed and making collaboration smoother.

7. Highlight Tasks with Custom Filters

Stay focused on your fundraising goals with Kerika's customizable task highlighting. This image showcases Kerika's filter options, allowing users to quickly identify tasks based on assignee, status, due date, priority, and tags. Highlight what matters most, eliminate distractions, and drive your fundraising campaign to success with Kerika's powerful filtering capabilities

The highlight option  allows you to quickly locate tasks using custom filters. You can filter by criteria such as assigned team member, task status, due date, priority, and tags. Whether you want to find overdue tasks or those marked as high priority, this feature helps you narrow down exactly what you’re looking for.

This option saves time by eliminating the need to manually search through tasks. Instead, you can instantly highlight items that need immediate attention, helping your team prioritize key tasks, address bottlenecks, and keep the fundraising campaign running smoothly.

8. Manage Board Settings for Full Control

Maintain complete control over your fundraising campaign with Kerika's customizable board settings. This image showcases Kerika's settings menu with tabs for overview, settings, columns, and tags. Efficiently manage team access, track progress, customize workflow stages, and categorize tasks, all in one place

The settings option provides a wide range of customization features that help you tailor the board to your specific fundraising needs. Here’s a closer look at what you can do:

  • Overview: Get a summary of the board’s current status, including the number of completed tasks, overdue items, and upcoming deadlines. This quick snapshot helps you monitor overall progress.
  • Privacy Settings: Control who can access the board by choosing between team-only access, account-wide access, or allowing access via a link.
  • Work-In-Progress (WIP) Limits: Limit the number of tasks allowed in each column to prevent overloading team members and ensure a manageable workload.
  • Tags Management: Create, edit, and organize tags to help categorize and prioritize tasks. Tags such as “Compliance” or “Finalization” allow for easy filtering.
  • Column Settings: Add or adjust columns to match your workflow. This flexibility lets you adapt as the fundraising campaign evolves, ensuring the board always reflects your current needs.
  • Auto-Numbering of Tasks: Enable this option to automatically assign task numbers, making it easier to reference specific tasks during discussions.
  • Export and Archive: Export the board data in Excel format for external reporting or archive the board once the campaign is complete to preserve all progress and discussions.

With the board fully set up and organized, let’s take a closer look at how task cards help you break down complex activities into manageable steps, ensuring that every part of your fundraising campaign moves forward smoothly.

Break Down Tasks Into Manageable Steps

In any fundraising campaign, breaking tasks into smaller, actionable steps is crucial to ensuring smooth execution and preventing important details from slipping through the cracks. 

This demo board showcases how each task is carefully segmented for better collaboration and progress tracking.

Kerika's detailed task cards are great at increasing collaboration and simplifying complex fundraising plans. Assign clear steps while incorporating checklists, resources, and chats. Easily oversee and track action items while ensuring goals are met and productivity flows with Kerika

Here’s how the team uses task cards to break down their work effectively:

  • Details Tab for Comprehensive Task Descriptions: The Details tab stores important information, such as the task’s objective, requirements, and background. This ensures team members have the context they need without repeatedly asking for clarifications.
  • Task Status for Progress Updates: Each task can be assigned a status, like In Progress, Needs Review, or Ready, making it easy to track progress and identify tasks that require attention.
  • Checklist Tab for Subtasks: Large tasks are split into smaller, manageable subtasks using the checklist feature. Each subtask can be checked off as completed, helping teams stay organized and track incremental progress.
  • Due Dates to Meet Deadlines: Due dates ensure that tasks remain on schedule, and visibility into upcoming deadlines allows teams to prioritize tasks and avoid delays.
  • Tags for Easy Categorization: Assigning tags like “Compliance” or “Donor Outreach” helps categorize tasks, making it simple to filter and find related tasks quickly.
  • Chat Tab for Task-Specific Discussions: All task-related discussions are kept in the chat tab, avoiding scattered communication across different platforms and making it easy to reference past conversations.
  • Task Assignments for Clear Ownership: By assigning tasks to specific team members, the board ensures accountability and clarity on who is responsible for each task, eliminating confusion.
  • Attachments Tab for Storing Files: Task-specific documents, donor lists, or event planning files can be attached directly within the task card, saving time otherwise spent searching through shared drives or emails.

By breaking tasks into actionable steps and keeping everything centralized, the team can work efficiently, track progress with ease, and ensure that each phase of the fundraising campaign is executed successfully.

Conclusion: Set Your Fundraising Campaign Up for Success

A well-structured fundraising campaign is about more than just meeting goals; it’s about creating a streamlined process that keeps your team focused, tasks organized, and milestones on track. By implementing the right strategies and using an effective system, you can avoid common pitfalls and maintain momentum throughout the campaign.

Whether you’re managing donor outreach, approvals, or events, having a centralized board with task management features ensures your team can collaborate efficiently, adapt to changes, and achieve your fundraising goals with confidence. With the right approach, your campaign can build lasting connections, secure vital funding, and drive meaningful impact.

How to Run a Successful Fund Raising Campaign: A Step-by-Step Guide

Agile & Scrum, Best Practices

Fundraising is the lifeline of countless initiatives, from non-profits tackling global challenges to startups on the brink of groundbreaking innovations. A successful campaign isn’t just about raising funds; it’s about forging meaningful connections, earning trust, and delivering value to both donors and beneficiaries.

Without a clear planning, handling donor relationships, managing timelines, and coordinating team efforts can quickly spiral into chaos. Missed follow-ups, misaligned goals, and scattered data are common hurdles that can turn even the most promising campaigns into overwhelming tasks. 

In this guide, we’ll show you how to organize your campaign efficiently, address potential obstacles, and stay on track every step of the way. With practical tips and structured management techniques, you’ll have everything you need to drive a successful campaign from start to finish.

So let’s start with practical steps that will help you and your team stay focused, hit milestones, and keep campaigns on track.

Effectively manage your next fundraising campaign with Kerika's visual task board. This example showcases the key steps, such as brainstorming ideas, planning events, securing approvals, and managing active campaigns. Improve organization, communication, and overall campaign success with Kerika's intuitive platform

Review this fund raising campaign board

Essential Steps For Executing a Successful Fundraising Campaign

Executing a successful fundraising campaign involves meticulous planning, strategic execution, and continuous evaluation. Below are essential steps to guide you through the process:

1. Define Clear Objectives

Start by establishing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your campaign. Determine what you aim to achieve, whether it’s funding a particular project, expanding services, or covering operational costs. Clear objectives provide direction and a benchmark for success.

According to Smart Insights, applying the SMART framework to your marketing objectives ensures they are well-defined and achievable, leading to more effective campaigns.

  • Watch Out For: Ambiguity in goals or shifting priorities that can make it difficult to track progress.

2. Assemble a Dedicated Team

Form a committee comprising staff, volunteers, and stakeholders who are passionate about your cause. Assign roles based on individual strengths, such as donor outreach, event planning, or marketing. A committed team ensures tasks are managed efficiently and fosters a sense of shared purpose.

  • Watch Out For: Team members feeling overwhelmed or confused about their responsibilities, which can lead to delays or missed deadlines.

3. Conduct a Feasibility Study

Before launching, assess the viability of your campaign. According to CampaignCounsel.org, conducting a feasibility study is crucial for determining the potential success of a large-scale fundraising initiative. It helps organizations gauge donor interest, assess community support, and set achievable campaign goals

  • Watch Out For: Gaps in research that can lead to overly ambitious targets or under-prepared teams.

4. Develop a Comprehensive Plan

Create a detailed roadmap outlining strategies, timelines, and resources needed. Incorporate various fundraising methods, such as events, online campaigns, and grant applications. A well-structured plan serves as a blueprint, guiding your team through each phase of the campaign.

  • Watch Out For: Over-reliance on static plans that don’t account for unexpected changes.

5. Craft a Compelling Narrative

Tell a story that resonates with potential donors. Highlight the problem, your solution, and the impact of their contribution. Emotional and relatable narratives can significantly enhance donor engagement and motivation. 

  • Watch Out For: Inconsistent messaging across different platforms, which could weaken engagement.

6. Identify and Segment Your Audience

Analyze your donor base to identify key segments, such as individuals, corporations, or foundations. Tailor your messaging and approach to each group’s interests and capacity to give. Personalized communication increases the likelihood of successful solicitations. As BonterraTech highlights, donor segmentation allows organizations to deliver tailored messages that resonate with donors, increasing engagement and long-term support.

  • Watch Out For: Relying on outdated donor data or failing to personalize outreach efforts.

7. Implement a Soft Launch

Begin with a soft launch targeting loyal supporters to build initial momentum. This phase allows you to gather feedback, address any issues, and create a sense of progress before the public launch. Early success can also leverage social proof to attract additional donors. 

  • Watch Out For: Overlooking the importance of gathering early feedback, which can lead to unresolved issues during the public phase.

8. Utilize Multichannel Marketing

Promote your campaign across various platforms, including social media, email newsletters, and traditional media. Consistent messaging across channels maximizes reach and reinforces your campaign’s presence. 

  • Watch Out For: Disconnected campaigns that fail to synchronize communications, potentially confusing or alienating donors.

9. Engage and Acknowledge Donors

Maintain open communication with donors throughout the campaign. Provide updates on progress, express gratitude, and demonstrate the impact of their contributions. Recognizing donors fosters loyalty and encourages future support.

  • Watch Out For: Lack of timely communication or generic follow-ups that don’t feel personal.

10. Monitor Progress and Adapt

Regularly review your campaign’s performance against set milestones. Use data analytics to assess which strategies are effective and which need adjustment. Being flexible and responsive ensures the campaign remains on track and goals are met.

  • Watch Out For: Teams sticking rigidly to initial plans, even when adjustments could yield better results.

Executing a successful fundraising campaign requires more than just following the right steps. Without proper coordination, tracking, and collaboration, even the most well-planned efforts can lose momentum. As your campaign progresses, donor outreach will grow, tasks will increase, deadlines may overlap, and maintaining clear communication with both donors and internal teams will be crucial.

This is why the right tools are essential. They help you manage donor relations, prioritize key activities, and monitor progress effectively. With these tools, you can streamline donor information, avoid missed opportunities, and make data-driven decisions that maximize your fundraising potential.

Using The Right Tools

With your campaign plan in place, the next step is ensuring that everything runs smoothly without the common issues we discussed. This is where a well-structured task management tool can make all the difference. 

Take a look at this board. It’s an example of how teams can efficiently manage every stage of a fundraising campaign while staying organized and on track.

The Kerika fundraising platform ensures the best results by centralizing every phase and task in one place. Track each team member's action items, increase action levels for those falling behind, and use an easy-to-read dashboard to quickly check up on task progress

Review this fund raising campaign board

This board is an example of how teams can simplify complex fundraising campaigns. Tasks like event planning, donor follow-ups, and budget approvals are broken down into clear categories, making it easy to see what’s in progress, what needs immediate attention, and what’s completed. 

When deadlines overlap or team members juggle multiple responsibilities, the board helps prioritize key fundraising activities, ensuring that no critical task is overlooked. The structure addresses common fundraising challenges by clearly assigning tasks related to donor outreach, proposal submissions, or campaign reviews. 

Each team member knows exactly what they are responsible for, and collaboration becomes seamless. Instead of chasing updates or searching through emails for information, the entire team can view progress in real time and make necessary adjustments without confusion.

This doesn’t just help with meeting deadlines. It eliminates bottlenecks by making task statuses visible to everyone. let’s take a step further and explore how this board supports better decision-making and enables your team to adapt quickly to changes.

Take a Closer Look at This Fundraising Campaign Board

Let’s dive deeper into how this board helps teams manage every detail of a fundraising campaign while keeping tasks and goals in clear focus. The key to its effectiveness lies in its simplicity and ability to adapt as the campaign evolves. By visualizing progress, organizing tasks, and streamlining team collaboration, it helps teams stay on track and adjust quickly when needed.

Customize fundraising tasks to create an efficient workflow by tailoring and managing columns within Kerika. Easily hide columns, reorder, add, or move a set of data to streamline campaigns from beginning to end. Use Kerika's action-focused features to create a custom and easily manageable work plan

Below, we’ll walk through each feature with examples to show how this board can make your fundraising campaign more efficient, productive, and stress-free.

1. Create Detailed Task Cards for Every Fundraising Activity

Plan out and track key fundraising tasks with Kerika! This image showcases how to incorporate objectives, team assignments, deadlines, and specific next steps. Visualize a better way to fundraise for your team or non-profit with highly customizable task cards

As shown in this task card, each activity is organized with essential details like objectives, team assignments, deadlines, and specific steps needed for completion. The card also integrates resources such as files, discussions, and updates, making it a central hub for everything related to the task.

These task cards improve fundraising efficiency by keeping all key information in one place, reducing confusion and the need for back-and-forth communication. Team members can work collaboratively, monitor progress, and stay on top of deadlines without wasting time searching for documents or updates across multiple platforms.

2. Customize Columns to Match Your Fundraising Workflow

Manage your action plan by customizing columns within the Kerika interface to reflect action items for every unique fund raising campaign. This will help you create a custom process for your individual campaigns, that will lead you to have the optimal performance for every event

In this board, you can see how each column is set up to represent different stages of the fundraising process, such as “Fundraising Ideas,” “Planning,” and “Active Campaigns.” With customizable settings, you can easily add, rename, or move columns, ensuring that the workflow adapts to your team’s unique needs.

These columns help streamline progress by clearly indicating where each task stands and what needs to happen next. Whether you’re brainstorming ideas or seeking approvals, organizing tasks by stages ensures that nothing gets stuck or forgotten. 

This flexibility makes it easy to manage shifting priorities and maintain a smooth, efficient flow throughout the campaign.

3. Zoom Out to Scan and Find Tasks Quickly

Get a bird's-eye view of your fundraising campaign with Kerika. This image shows the zoom-out feature, which displays task names only for quick scanning and identification. Easily visualize all stages of your fundraising campaign to quickly spot bottlenecks and ensure everything stays on track, making Kerika an invaluable tool for efficient campaign management

The zoom-out option, shown in the image, hides task details and displays only the task names. This view is ideal for scanning the entire board at a glance and locating specific tasks without scrolling through extensive details. It’s particularly useful when you need a quick overview of what’s happening across multiple stages.

This helps you save time by making it easy to find tasks, check the progress, and identify any pending activities. Whether you’re tracking an approval or verifying the status of a campaign, this simplified view keeps everything accessible and easy to navigate.

4. Manage Team Members and Share Access

The Kerika fundraising task board promotes secure team-based action plans by managing and assigning roles to every team member (such as Board Admin, Team Member, or Visitor) based on the requirements of the action item! Each team member can also have their own set of clear steps that are required for the project. No longer will your team members be confused about what to do

Here you can see the option to invite team members and assign roles such as Board Admin, Team Member, or Visitor. This feature ensures that everyone involved in the fundraising campaign has the right level of access based on their role, whether they are leading the campaign or providing occasional input.

By defining roles clearly, you avoid confusion and maintain control over sensitive information. Board Admins can manage tasks and team permissions, Team Members can collaborate and update progress, and Visitors can view progress without making changes. This structure ensures smooth collaboration and accountability while keeping your campaign secure and well-organized.

5. Use Board Chat for Team-Wide Discussions

Share information to maximize results for team members with Kerika. Kerika's streamlined action plans are much better than email threads that get lost! Keep vital discussions in one centralized location where everyone has access to action plan details and can collaborate effectively

The board chat feature is designed for general discussions that involve the entire team. Unlike task-specific chats, which focus on individual tasks, the board chat allows you to share updates, announcements, or feedback that everyone needs to see.

This feature helps keep general conversations separate from task-related details, reducing confusion and ensuring important updates are easy to find. Whether you’re sharing campaign milestones, addressing team-wide concerns, or brainstorming new ideas, board chat ensures the entire team stays in sync.

6. Share Files and Attachments Across the Whole Team

Enhance teamwork with effective file management within Kerika. Simply generate sharable links, or create shareable online documents with team members. These resources are then attached to your fundraising tasks! By centralizing resources with Kerika, teams spend less time searching and more time collaborating

The board attachment option allows you to upload or link important documents, spreadsheets, presentations, or online resources that are useful for the entire team. This is useful for files are available to everyone and aren’t tied to specific tasks.

This feature ensures that essential documents, such as fundraising plans, donor lists, and campaign reports, are easily accessible to all team members in one place. It eliminates the need to search through different platforms, keeping the team informed and making collaboration smoother.

7. Highlight Tasks with Custom Filters

Stay focused on your fundraising goals with Kerika's customizable task highlighting. This image showcases Kerika's filter options, allowing users to quickly identify tasks based on assignee, status, due date, priority, and tags. Highlight what matters most, eliminate distractions, and drive your fundraising campaign to success with Kerika's powerful filtering capabilities

The highlight option  allows you to quickly locate tasks using custom filters. You can filter by criteria such as assigned team member, task status, due date, priority, and tags. Whether you want to find overdue tasks or those marked as high priority, this feature helps you narrow down exactly what you’re looking for.

This option saves time by eliminating the need to manually search through tasks. Instead, you can instantly highlight items that need immediate attention, helping your team prioritize key tasks, address bottlenecks, and keep the fundraising campaign running smoothly.

8. Manage Board Settings for Full Control

Maintain complete control over your fundraising campaign with Kerika's customizable board settings. This image showcases Kerika's settings menu with tabs for overview, settings, columns, and tags. Efficiently manage team access, track progress, customize workflow stages, and categorize tasks, all in one place

The settings option provides a wide range of customization features that help you tailor the board to your specific fundraising needs. Here’s a closer look at what you can do:

  • Overview: Get a summary of the board’s current status, including the number of completed tasks, overdue items, and upcoming deadlines. This quick snapshot helps you monitor overall progress.
  • Privacy Settings: Control who can access the board by choosing between team-only access, account-wide access, or allowing access via a link.
  • Work-In-Progress (WIP) Limits: Limit the number of tasks allowed in each column to prevent overloading team members and ensure a manageable workload.
  • Tags Management: Create, edit, and organize tags to help categorize and prioritize tasks. Tags such as “Compliance” or “Finalization” allow for easy filtering.
  • Column Settings: Add or adjust columns to match your workflow. This flexibility lets you adapt as the fundraising campaign evolves, ensuring the board always reflects your current needs.
  • Auto-Numbering of Tasks: Enable this option to automatically assign task numbers, making it easier to reference specific tasks during discussions.
  • Export and Archive: Export the board data in Excel format for external reporting or archive the board once the campaign is complete to preserve all progress and discussions.

With the board fully set up and organized, let’s take a closer look at how task cards help you break down complex activities into manageable steps, ensuring that every part of your fundraising campaign moves forward smoothly.

Break Down Tasks Into Manageable Steps

In any fundraising campaign, breaking tasks into smaller, actionable steps is crucial to ensuring smooth execution and preventing important details from slipping through the cracks. 

This demo board showcases how each task is carefully segmented for better collaboration and progress tracking.

Kerika's detailed task cards are great at increasing collaboration and simplifying complex fundraising plans. Assign clear steps while incorporating checklists, resources, and chats. Easily oversee and track action items while ensuring goals are met and productivity flows with Kerika

Here’s how the team uses task cards to break down their work effectively:

  • Details Tab for Comprehensive Task Descriptions: The Details tab stores important information, such as the task’s objective, requirements, and background. This ensures team members have the context they need without repeatedly asking for clarifications.
  • Task Status for Progress Updates: Each task can be assigned a status, like In Progress, Needs Review, or Ready, making it easy to track progress and identify tasks that require attention.
  • Checklist Tab for Subtasks: Large tasks are split into smaller, manageable subtasks using the checklist feature. Each subtask can be checked off as completed, helping teams stay organized and track incremental progress.
  • Due Dates to Meet Deadlines: Due dates ensure that tasks remain on schedule, and visibility into upcoming deadlines allows teams to prioritize tasks and avoid delays.
  • Tags for Easy Categorization: Assigning tags like “Compliance” or “Donor Outreach” helps categorize tasks, making it simple to filter and find related tasks quickly.
  • Chat Tab for Task-Specific Discussions: All task-related discussions are kept in the chat tab, avoiding scattered communication across different platforms and making it easy to reference past conversations.
  • Task Assignments for Clear Ownership: By assigning tasks to specific team members, the board ensures accountability and clarity on who is responsible for each task, eliminating confusion.
  • Attachments Tab for Storing Files: Task-specific documents, donor lists, or event planning files can be attached directly within the task card, saving time otherwise spent searching through shared drives or emails.

By breaking tasks into actionable steps and keeping everything centralized, the team can work efficiently, track progress with ease, and ensure that each phase of the fundraising campaign is executed successfully.

Conclusion: Set Your Fundraising Campaign Up for Success

A well-structured fundraising campaign is about more than just meeting goals; it’s about creating a streamlined process that keeps your team focused, tasks organized, and milestones on track. By implementing the right strategies and using an effective system, you can avoid common pitfalls and maintain momentum throughout the campaign.

Whether you’re managing donor outreach, approvals, or events, having a centralized board with task management features ensures your team can collaborate efficiently, adapt to changes, and achieve your fundraising goals with confidence. With the right approach, your campaign can build lasting connections, secure vital funding, and drive meaningful impact.

Effortlessly Switch Between Projects

Technology

Switching between projects in some tools can feel like a chore. Clicking through endless menus, searching for the right board, and trying to track what’s due can quickly become overwhelming. It’s a process that wastes time and drains your focus.

A better approach simplifies everything. Imagine seamlessly moving between projects, checking what’s due, catching up on updates, or focusing on your assigned tasks – all with just a click. No distractions, no hassle, just a smoother way to stay organized.

Want to see how this can transform your workflow? Let’s break it down step by step.

Seamless Project Switching:

Screenshot showcasing Kerika's seamless project switching capability, designed for effortless navigation. An arrow highlights the 'OPEN BOARDS' button in the top navigation bar, which opens an intuitive dropdown menu. This menu provides instant one-click access to crucial views like 'What's Assigned to Me' and 'What's Due', alongside a clear list of all accessible project boards neatly organized by account. This feature dramatically enhances ease of use, allowing users to instantly jump between different projects, focus areas, or shared team workspaces, streamlining workflow and boosting productivity without getting lost in menus.

Quick Steps to Get Started

  1. Click the Open Boards button in the top menu.
  2. Browse through your boards, neatly grouped by account or sorted into special views.
  3. Pick the board you need, and you’re there – no extra steps, no confusion.

How The Options Work:

  • What’s Assigned to Me: Perfect for zeroing in on your to-dos.
  • What’s Due: Keep track of deadlines and tackle high-priority tasks first.
  • What’s New & Updated: Catch up on recent updates without digging through every board.
  • See Shared Boards at a Glance: Shared boards are grouped by accounts, making it easy to navigate projects shared with you by teammates, clients, or collaborators. 

Why You’ll Love It

  • It Saves You Time: No more hunting around to find the right board. Jump straight into what matters.
  • It Keeps You Focused: With shortcuts like What’s Due, you can prioritize your day without feeling scattered.
  • It Simplifies Your Workflow: Switching between projects is so smooth, it feels effortless and natural.

How It Helps in Real-Life Scenarios

  • Juggling Multiple Teams: If you’re managing different teams, you can easily check their progress by hopping between their boards.
  • Starting Your Day Right: Use What’s Assigned to Me to kick off your day with a clear game plan.
  • Keeping Up with Changes: Need to catch up? Check What’s New & Updated and see all the latest changes at a glance.
  • Effortless Collaboration: Quickly access shared boards for seamless updates and collaboration with clients or other teams.

Wrap-Up

Seamless navigation tools make managing multiple projects and shared boards simple and efficient. Whether you’re tracking deadlines, catching up on updates, or diving into a shared workspace, everything you need stays organized and easily accessible.

Elevating Customer Success: A Step-by-Step Guide 

Agile & Scrum, Best Practices, Team Collaboration

In a world where customer satisfaction can make or break a business, the importance of a well-structured and results-driven customer success program is hard to overstate. It’s not just about solving problems when they arise. It’s about anticipating them, guiding customers through their journey, and ensuring they achieve meaningful outcomes. But here’s the challenge: without the right strategy, even the most dedicated teams can fall short.

Imagine a customer success team handling multiple tickets, feature requests, and bug reports while maintaining proactive communication with clients. This balancing act requires more than good intentions. It demands structure, clarity, and tools that bring everything together.

This guide will help you master that balance. Whether you are a growing startup or a seasoned enterprise, we will walk you through a step-by-step approach to elevate your customer success efforts. From managing incoming tickets to improving response times and keeping clients engaged, you will find practical advice to make an impact.

Let’s dive into what it takes to build a customer success program that not only solves issues but also drives lasting outcomes.

See how Kerika elevates customer success with its structured, results-driven Kanban board. This example demonstrates efficient ticket management, proactive communication, and streamlined team collaboration, leading to improved customer satisfaction and retention. Transform your customer success efforts with Kerika's intuitive and scalable platform

Click here to see how this team is utilising this board

Essential Steps To Build a Solid Customer Success Program

Building a robust customer success program involves a structured approach that can be scaled and adapted over time. Here are the essential steps you should follow, backed by industry best practices and studies.

1. Define Clear Objectives and Success Metrics

Start by outlining what you aim to achieve with your customer success program. Are you looking to improve customer retention, increase upsells, or enhance customer satisfaction scores? Setting clear objectives and associated success metrics gives your team precise targets to aim for.

According to a study by HubSpot, companies that define clear success metrics are more likely to achieve positive outcomes in customer retention. Clear objectives and success metrics provide teams with precise targets, improve communication, and enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Watch out for: Setting vague or non-measurable objectives can lead to confusion and lack of direction. Ensure all objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).

2. Develop a Comprehensive Customer Journey Map

Understanding each stage of the customer’s journey is crucial. Map out the typical customer journey from onboarding to renewal, identifying key touchpoints where your team can add value. This mapping should include potential pain points and opportunities to enhance the customer experience. Research from the Customer Experience Professionals Association highlights that journey maps help align cross-functional teams and improve customer-centric decision-making.

Watch out for: Missing out on hidden pain points or failing to update the journey map as products and services evolve can cause misalignment with customer expectations.

3. Implement Proactive Communication Strategies

Proactive communication is key to preempting issues and building trust with customers. Develop communication protocols that ensure your team reaches out to customers at critical moments before issues arise. A survey by Gallup shows that fully engaged customers offer a higher premium in terms of share of wallet, profitability, and revenue compared to the average customer.

Watch out for: Over-communication can overwhelm customers, while too little can make them feel neglected. Find the right balance based on customer preferences and feedback.

4. Train Your Team Regularly 

Continuous training and development are key to keeping your customer success team knowledgeable and effective. Regular training sessions on product updates, customer handling skills, and advanced communication techniques ensure that your team can provide exceptional service and handle complex issues with ease.

Watch out for: Training without practical application or feedback can be ineffective. Make sure training sessions are interactive, allow for role-playing scenarios, and provide feedback to ensure concepts are understood and can be applied.

5. Analyze Feedback and Adjust 

Regularly gather and analyze feedback from customers to understand their needs, expectations, and satisfaction levels. This feedback can guide improvements in products and services and highlight areas where your customer success process could be enhanced.

Watch out for: Feedback should be actionable. It’s not enough to collect data; the insights gained must lead to actionable changes that drive improvements in customer satisfaction and business outcomes.

6. Celebrate Success and Recognize Challenges 

Create a culture that celebrates milestones and acknowledges the challenges faced. Recognizing team efforts and learning from setbacks fosters a positive working environment and encourages continuous improvement.

Watch out for: Ensure that recognition is fair and inclusive. Focusing only on certain achievements or team members can lead to resentment and a decrease in team morale.

7. Leverage the Right Tools 

Utilizing advanced task management tools is pivotal for orchestrating an effective customer success strategy. These tools support the customer success teams by organizing customer interactions, streamlining workflows, and ensuring timely resolutions. With capabilities for real-time updates and collaborative functionalities, these tools facilitate a proactive approach to customer management, enabling teams to adapt swiftly to customer needs and enhance the service experience.

Watch out for: It’s crucial to select tools that are intuitive and cost-effective, offering flexibility without overwhelming your team with complexity or excessive costs. The right tool should seamlessly integrate into your existing processes, enhancing efficiency without disrupting the workflow.

Let’s take a closer look at how the right tools can significantly streamline your customer success efforts. By integrating an effective task management system, you can enhance your team’s ability to manage workflows and respond to customer needs swiftly. This practical insight will help you understand the tangible benefits these tools bring to everyday customer success scenarios.

Using The Right Tools

Lets look into the practical application of task management tools, showcasing how a specific team utilizes such a system to enhance their customer success program.

Optimize your customer success program with the right task management tools. Centralized processes and effective support enhance time and resource efficiency. See how Kerika supports teams by organizing interactions, streamlining workflows, and ensuring timely resolutions with its customizable platform

Check How This Team Executes Their Customer Success Program

In this overview of a well-structured task management board, we see a system designed to optimize customer success outcomes. The board is segmented into various sections such as “New Tickets,” “Feature Requests,” and “Bugs,” each dedicated to tracking and managing specific types of customer interactions.

This structured approach ensures that every customer query or issue is captured and addressed promptly, enhancing response times and overall customer satisfaction.

The team uses the board to maintain a clear overview of ongoing tasks, allowing for efficient management of priorities and resources. For instance, new tickets are quickly assigned to ensure no request is overlooked, while feature requests are meticulously tracked to inform product updates that align with customer needs.

This system not only streamlines the workflow but also facilitates a proactive approach to customer service, laying the groundwork for a detailed exploration of how each element contributes to the team’s success in the subsequent section.

Take a Closer Look at This Customer Success Board

Customize every step of your customer success process with Kerika. This image highlights Kerika's flexible features, such as the ability to add new tasks and customize columns to align with team workflow. Tailor every step from ticket intake to resolution to ensure all actions are accounted for while providing team members with clear visual progress

Check How This Team Executes Their Customer Success Program

1. Creating a Task Card for New Tickets

Efficiently create and manage customer support tickets with Kerika's visual system. The image displays a specific example of a task card related to requesting a 'Team discount?' Track user information, and quickly assign action steps to provide top-quality support

Efficiently managing new customer inquiries begins with the creation of task cards for each new ticket. For example, a card like “Team Discount?” is used to address specific requests, containing essential details such as the customer’s query and contact information. 

This setup allows the team to track and prioritize these inquiries from receipt through to resolution, ensuring timely responses and maintaining high customer satisfaction.

2. Customizing Workflow with Columns

Visualize the best workflow for your customer success agents with Kerika. Quickly streamline their processes by adjusting tasks or organizing the interface. Create a unique work environment to visualize results, track progress, and offer premium service for every customer

Customizing columns in the workflow is crucial for managing customer interactions effectively. By setting up specific columns like “New Tickets” and “Open Tickets,” teams can streamline processes from initial inquiry to resolution. 

This adaptability allows for adding, removing, or rearranging columns to keep the workflow organized and responsive to changing priorities, ensuring efficient handling of customer needs.

3. Zoom Out for Workflow Overview

The Kerika customer success board is organized so no tasks fall through the cracks! This is thanks to the ability to zoom out for a bird's eye view. Easily identify problems and optimize work management. Take advantage of greater visibility with Kerika's visual tracking

By minimizing the task cards to display only their titles, team members can gain a high-level overview of the entire board without getting lost in the details. 

This bird’s-eye view is particularly useful for identifying overall progress, detecting bottlenecks, and ensuring that no area of the board is overloaded with tasks. It allows for rapid assessment and reallocation of resources where necessary, ensuring that the workflow remains balanced and efficient.

4. Managing Team Members on the Board

Kerika provides you with the right tools to assign team roles and responsibilities. See how easy managing the customer success workflow is by assigning each team member as an Admin, Member, or Visitor with designated access and tasks. This will help you avoid confusion while securing data by limiting levels of access to each board for specific team members

Effective team management is crucial for any customer success board. The ability to add team members and assign specific roles such as Board Admin, Team Member, or Visitor ensures everyone understands their responsibilities and accesses only the information necessary for their tasks. 

This feature facilitates streamlined collaboration by defining roles clearly and secures sensitive information by controlling access appropriately. 

For example, team members might be assigned to handle day-to-day tasks while visitors could be restricted to view-only rights, which is ideal for external stakeholders or auditors who require insights without the capability to make changes.

5. Centralized Communication Using Board Chat

Boost team communication with Kerika's integrated board chat. This image shows a team collaborating within Kerika, sharing updates and insights directly on the board. Streamline discussions, improve response times, and keep everyone aligned with Kerika's real-time communication features

This allows these team members to quickly exchange information, offer assistance, or update each other on progress without leaving the platform. It helps in keeping all communications related general board activity within the same workspace, enhancing clarity and reducing the time spent searching for information across multiple channels. 

This centralized approach streamlines interactions and keeps the team aligned on their tasks and objectives.

6. Centralized File Management for Seamless Access

Streamline file management and enhance collaboration with Kerika. This image showcases Kerika's centralized file management, allowing teams to upload, create, and link documents directly to the board. Keep all essential resources organized and easily accessible, boosting productivity and ensuring seamless access for your entire customer success team

The board’s file management system allows team members to upload, create, or link documents directly, supporting various document types like Google Docs and Spreadsheets. Files remain securely stored in your own drive, ensuring easy access and data security. 

This setup eliminates the need for external storage solutions and keeps all necessary materials readily available and safe within the project’s ecosystem.

7. Highlight and Prioritize Critical Tasks

Prioritize critical customer success tasks with Kerika. This image showcases Kerika's highlighting features, allowing users to filter tasks by due date, priority, and assignee. Empower your team to focus on what matters most, improving response times and driving customer satisfaction with Kerika's smart task prioritization

The ability to highlight and prioritize critical tasks within the board is crucial for maintaining operational efficiency. This ensures urgent tasks are easily visible, aiding in efficient management and timely completion.  

For example, tasks can be filtered to show only those that are overdue, marked as high priority, or assigned to a particular team member, making it easier to manage workloads and ensure timely completion of critical activities.

8. Fine-Tuning Board Settings for Optimal Control

Fine-tune your customer success board with Kerika's comprehensive settings. This image illustrates the Settings, Columns, and Tags tabs, allowing users to manage privacy, customize workflow stages, and categorize tasks. Take control of your customer success program with Kerika's flexible board settings for optimal efficiency and security

Adjusting the board settings is crucial for maintaining optimal control over the team’s workflow. By fine-tuning these elements, you can create a highly organized workspace and control who can view the board, implementing work-in-progress limits to manage the flow of tasks effectively, and enabling auto-numbering of tasks for better tracking.

Additionally, the ability to manage board tags and columns allows teams to customize the environment to match their specific processes and needs.

Break Down Customer Tickets Into Manageable Steps

Break down customer tickets into manageable steps with Kerika's task management features. This image showcases a Kerika board with a sample customer support ticket broken down into actionable steps. Assign, track, and manage every detail of each task to ensure a smooth, efficient process that will help your customer success program thrive.

Click here to view this task card

This Customer Success board excels at breaking down customer tickets into actionable and trackable steps, ensuring thorough handling of each customer interaction. Here’s how this structured approach enhances the customer success workflow:

  1. Details Tab for Ticket Descriptions: Each ticket on the board, such as “Team discount?”, includes a Details tab. This provides a comprehensive description of the customer’s issue or request, outlining the necessary actions and objectives. It ensures that all team members understand the scope of the customer’s needs clearly.
  2. Setting Ticket Status for Progress Tracking: The board allows each ticket to be marked with statuses like Ready, In Progress, or Needs Review. This system offers clear visibility on the progress of customer issues, enabling team members to efficiently track and address any delays or complications.
  3. Checklist Tab for Actionable Steps: Complex customer issues are divided into subtasks within the Checklist tab. This method helps in systematically addressing each component of the ticket, ensuring thorough resolution and customer satisfaction.
  4. Due Dates to Maintain Service Levels: Setting deadlines for each ticket ensures that responses and resolutions are timely. This helps the team prioritize their tasks effectively and meet the service level agreements set with customers.
  5. Tags for Easy Categorization: Tickets are tagged with relevant labels such as high priority or common issue, which helps in organizing and prioritizing the workflow. This feature makes it simple to filter and focus on tickets that require immediate attention or fall into specific categories.
  6. Chat Tab for Ticket-Specific Discussions: The Chat tab centralizes all discussions related to a specific ticket, allowing team members to collaborate directly within the context of the issue. This feature streamlines communication and speeds up problem resolution.
  7. Task Assignments for Clear Responsibility: Assigning tickets to specific team members clarifies who is responsible for handling each issue. This clear delineation of tasks prevents overlap and ensures accountability within the team.
  8. Attachments Tab for Relevant Documents: The Attachments tab enables team members to store all pertinent documentation directly with the ticket. This centralized storage of files ensures that all the necessary information is readily available and linked to the corresponding customer issue.

By utilizing these features, the board effectively organizes the handling of customer tickets, enhancing the team’s ability to manage their customer success workflow systematically and efficiently.

Conclusion

The capabilities demonstrated by the Customer Success board show that when technology aligns with strategic workflow management, teams can enhance their efficiency and effectiveness significantly. By breaking down tasks, managing communications, and utilizing advanced features like task prioritization and file management, teams are equipped to provide unparalleled customer service.

Implementing these strategies will not only streamline operations but also elevate the customer experience, fostering loyalty and driving success in today’s competitive environment.

Only Board Admins Can Permanently Delete Tasks

Technology

Only Board Admins Can Permanently Delete Tasks

Mistakes happen – tasks can sometimes be deleted by accident. That’s why having a safeguard in place is essential to ensure nothing important is lost forever.

When tasks are deleted, they don’t disappear permanently; instead, they’re moved to a Deleted Column of your board. This provides a safety net, allowing tasks to be reviewed or restored if needed. However, the ability to permanently delete tasks is restricted to Board Admins.

This setup ensures accountability while maintaining flexibility. Team members can delete tasks knowing they can be recovered if needed, but permanent removal requires an Admin’s oversight, keeping task management secure and deliberate.

Let’s unpack how it all works:

How It Works

Screenshot illustrating Kerika's secure task deletion process. It shows a project board with a distinct 'Deleted' column containing tasks like 'Draft project proposal'. Individual deleted tasks feature an easy-to-use 'Restore' button, allowing any team member to quickly recover items. Crucially, the image highlights that only Board Admins, identified in the team list, can access the 'Delete tasks permanently' option from the column's action menu. This demonstrates Kerika's thoughtful design, providing a safety net against accidental deletions while ensuring controlled, accountable permanent removal, boosting team confidence and workflow security.

Click here to check out how this project management board works

1. Trashed Cards Stay in the Deleted Column

When a task is deleted, it’s not gone forever. Instead, it’s moved to the Deleted Column, where it stays until further action is taken.

  • Recover Tasks Anytime: Anyone on the board can restore deleted tasks from this column if they realize a mistake has been made.
  • No Pressure: You don’t need to worry about accidental clicks or hasty decisions – everything remains recoverable.

2. Only Board Admins Can Permanently Delete

When it’s time to clean up the Deleted Column for good, only the Board Admins can step in to permanently remove tasks.

  • Added Protection: By restricting this authority to admins, you can make sure  that no task is permanently deleted without careful consideration.
  • Clear Accountability: This feature adds a layer of control, ensuring that critical tasks are not lost due to unintentional actions.

Why This Matters

  1. Avoid Losing Important Work

    The Deleted Column acts as a safety net, allowing team members to delete tasks without the fear of losing them permanently. Tasks remain recoverable until a Board Admin decides otherwise, offering both flexibility and security.
  2. Maintain Control

    Board Admins have the authority to oversee permanent deletions, ensuring that only unnecessary or duplicate tasks are removed. This structure helps maintain clarity and keeps projects well-organized.
  3. Promote Accountability

    Restricting permanent deletion rights encourages teams to manage tasks carefully, reducing errors and promoting a reliable, transparent system. This approach fosters trust and responsibility across the board.

Conclusion

Deleted tasks are recoverable until a Board Admin takes action, ensuring safety, accountability, and control. This approach prevents accidental losses and keeps your workflow secure and organized.

Mastering Project Management: A Step-by-Step Guide to Delivering Success

Agile & Scrum, Best Practices, Team Collaboration

Efficient project management is the backbone of delivering successful outcomes. Whether you’re designing a website, launching a product, or coordinating a complex development effort, a structured approach ensures that all tasks are aligned, timelines are met, and stakeholders remain informed.

This guide walks you through the essential steps to mastering project management, providing actionable strategies to streamline workflows, foster collaboration, and track progress. 

Once you’ve grasped the fundamentals, you’ll see how a visual tool can bring these principles to life, helping your team stay focused and productive.

This screenshot shows an example of a remote team using Kerika to manage their projects. In this image you can see that tasks are entered across several different columns that are laid out to represent the workflow for this particular team. In each task, you can easily see who is currently working on the task, from their avatars, and you can also see important information about each task such as the due date, whether there attachments on the task, tags, and whether there has been chat on the task as well. The layout is simple and intuitive so even users who are not technical, or experienced in using Kanban-style boards, can easily understand the state of the project.

Click on this image to see how this team has bult a powerful Project Management Board

Essential Steps to Build an Effective Project Management Workflow

A strong project management workflow ensures that tasks are completed efficiently, deadlines are met, and team collaboration runs smoothly. 

Here are the key steps to build a reliable project management process:

1. Define Clear Objectives and Goals

Every successful project begins with clear, well-defined objectives. Understanding what you aim to achieve keeps the team focused and aligned throughout the project lifecycle.

Key Actions:

  • Conduct stakeholder meetings to align on project goals.
  • Break down objectives into measurable deliverables using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).
  • Document these objectives in a centralized location to ensure team visibility.

2. Develop a Detailed Project Plan

A comprehensive project plan serves as a roadmap, outlining tasks, timelines, and dependencies. It ensures that every team member understands their role and responsibilities.

Key Actions:

  • Use Gantt charts to map out timelines and task dependencies.
  • Identify milestones and deadlines to track progress effectively.
  • Allocate resources based on task complexity and team expertise.

3. Assign Roles and Responsibilities

Defining roles ensures accountability and eliminates confusion about who is responsible for each task. A RACI matrix (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) can be helpful.

Key Actions:

  • Assign roles based on individual skills and project needs.
  • Communicate responsibilities clearly during team meetings or kickoff sessions.
  • Encourage feedback to ensure responsibilities are distributed fairly.

4. Prioritize and Break Down Tasks

Breaking down the project into smaller, manageable tasks ensures that no aspect of the work is overlooked. Prioritization helps focus the team’s efforts on what matters most.

Key Actions:

  • Categorize tasks by urgency and importance using prioritization techniques like the Eisenhower Matrix.
  • Divide complex tasks into smaller subtasks with clear deadlines.
  • Use tools to track task progress and keep everyone updated.

5. Foster Collaboration and Communication

Open and transparent communication is critical for effective project management. It helps teams stay aligned, resolve conflicts, and ensure progress is on track.

Key Actions:

  • Set up regular meetings (e.g., daily stand-ups or weekly check-ins) to review progress and address roadblocks.
  • Encourage team members to share updates and feedback in real-time.
  • Use collaborative tools to centralize communication and document decisions.

6. Monitor Progress and Adjust Plans

Tracking project progress helps identify potential risks and bottlenecks before they escalate. Regular monitoring allows for adjustments to keep the project on course.

Key Actions:

  • Use KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) such as project completion percentage, budget adherence, and resource utilization.
  • Conduct periodic reviews to reassess goals and timelines.
  • Create contingency plans to address unforeseen challenges.

7. Evaluate and Document Learnings

After completing the project, evaluate its success by measuring outcomes against initial goals. Documenting lessons learned helps improve future workflows.

Key Actions:

  • Hold a post-project review to discuss what went well and what could be improved.
  • Collect feedback from all stakeholders to identify strengths and weaknesses.
  • Update standard operating procedures (SOPs) based on findings.

Using the Right Tools to Build a Project Management Workflow

While mastering the essential steps of project management is key, implementing those steps effectively requires the right tools. A reliable task management system can bridge the gap between theory and execution, ensuring that projects are not only well-organized but also actionable. 

The right tool streamlines task delegation, prioritization, and collaboration, enabling your team to stay focused and deliver results on time.

Explore Kerika's demo project management board and see how it simplifies complex workflows. This image showcases a visual representation of tasks progressing through stages like project strategy, design, development, and testing, ensuring nothing is missed. Discover how Kerika's intuitive features can help your team stay organized and deliver successful outcomes

Explore How This Demo Project Management Board Works

The demo board below exemplifies an efficient project management workflow in action. This board visually represents tasks progressing through stages such as “Project Strategy,” “Project Design,” “Development,” and “Testing,” ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. 

By centralizing information, tracking progress at a glance, and identifying bottlenecks, this workspace provides a clear and actionable overview of your project.

Now let’s dive deeper into this demo board and understand how each section works together to create a robust project management system designed for success.

How This Project Board Works

Customize your project workflow with Kerika. This image demonstrates features for adding tasks, customizing columns, managing team members, centralizing communication, and sharing files. Tailor the board to your unique project needs and empower your team to collaborate effectively. See how Kerika's flexibility can boost your team's productivity

Explore How This Demo Project Management Board Works

You can see in the image above how this team organizes their workflow using a board that simplifies project management. It’s designed to handle every stage of the process.

Let’s take a closer look at this team’s board to understand how each feature contributes to an effective project management system.Here’s how it all comes together.

1. Adding New Tasks to the Board

Easily create and manage project tasks with Kerika. This image showcases Kerika's intuitive task creation feature, allowing you to quickly add descriptions, checklists, and attachments to each task. Streamline your workflow and ensure no detail is missed with Kerika's comprehensive task management capabilities

Every project starts with a list of tasks, and this board makes it incredibly simple to add them. By clicking on the “Add New Task” button (highlighted in the bottom left corner of the board), you can create a new card. Each card represents a specific task, such as “Homepage Design” or “Product Page Development.” This ensures your workflow stays clear and nothing gets left behind.

2. Customizing Columns for Your Workflow

Tailor your project workflow to meet your team's unique needs by customizing the columns within Kerika. This image shows how easy it is to add, rename, hide, or move columns. Streamline the process by visualizing each step, from strategy to design, development, and testing. Make complex workflows easier to manage through Kerika's powerful and customizable interface

Need to adjust how your board is set up? You can easily rename columns, add new ones, or move existing columns to match your workflow. Simply click on the column menu (three dots) at the top of any column to access these options. For example, if a new phase of your project emerges, you can add a column like “Testing” without disrupting your existing tasks.

3. Managing Team Members and Roles

Streamline team collaboration with Kerika's role-based access control. This image showcases how to easily manage team members and assign roles (Admin, Member, Visitor) to ensure the right people have the right permissions. Improve accountability and protect sensitive project information with Kerika's robust team management features

Effective collaboration starts with the right roles. Use the Team Members menu to add or remove members from the board. Each person can be assigned as an Admin, Member, or Visitor based on their responsibilities. For instance, assign Admin rights to project leads while giving clients Visitor access to view progress.

4. Centralizing Team Communication

Improve team communication with Kerika's centralized board chat. This image demonstrates how to easily share updates, ask questions, and provide feedback directly within the project management board, eliminating scattered emails and ensuring everyone stays informed. Streamline your project communication and enhance team collaboration with Kerika

Keep all discussions relevant to the board using the Board Chat feature. This allows your team to share updates, ask questions, or address challenges in one central location. For instance, a designer might share feedback on the “Logo Design” task directly in the chat to keep everyone on the same page.

5. Attaching and Sharing Files

Centralize project resources with Kerika's file sharing and integration features. This image demonstrates how to easily upload files, link Google Docs, and create new documents directly within the project board. Keep all essential materials organized and accessible, boosting team productivity with Kerika

Every project involves a fair amount of documentation, and this board handles it beautifully. With the Attachments section, you can upload files, link Google Docs, or even create new documents directly from the board. For instance, attach style guides or client briefs to ensure all necessary materials are accessible to the team.

6. Highlighting Important Tasks

Stay focused on critical tasks with Kerika's powerful highlighting features. This image showcases Kerika's task highlighting options, allowing you to filter by assignee, status, due date, priority, and tags. Ensure nothing gets overlooked and keep your projects on track with Kerika's smart highlighting capabilities

Prioritize what matters with the Highlight feature. This lets you filter tasks based on due dates, priority levels, tags or specific assignments. You can combine these filters to find tasks as well.

For example, You can highlight tasks assigned to a particular teammate, tagged as ‘mockups’, along with their status as ‘Ready’. This saves you a lot of manual work to find what you are looking for.

7. Adjusting Privacy Settings

The Settings Menu is where this team fine-tunes their board for maximum efficiency. Clicking the gear icon in the top-right corner reveals four tabs: Overview, Settings, Columns, and Tags. Each tab plays a specific role in optimizing the workflow. Let’s break them down:

  1. Overview Tab:
Get a clear overview of your project's progress with Kerika's dashboard. This image showcases the Overview tab with key metrics like completed tasks, overdue tasks, and board description. Easily export data to Excel and archive completed boards for future reference. Experience data-driven project management with Kerika's comprehensive reporting capabilities

Provides a snapshot of the board’s progress, a description of its purpose, options for exporting tasks in Excel format, and the ability to archive completed boards for future reference.

  1. Settings Tab: 
Control project access and customize workflow with Kerika's settings tab. This image shows the settings panel where you can manage board privacy, set Work-in-Progress (WIP) limits, enable auto-numbering of tasks, and manage tags. Tailor Kerika to your specific needs and optimize your project management process for maximum efficiency

Controls board privacy and access permissions, letting you choose between team-only access, organizational access, or public sharing via a link. It also manages edit permissions to maintain workflow integrity.

  1. Columns Tab: 
Structure your project workflow with Kerika's customizable columns. This image showcases the Columns tab, allowing you to easily add, rename, or reorder columns to perfectly match your project phases. Create a visual workspace that reflects the way your team works and drives efficiency with Kerika's flexible workflow management

Allows customization of the board structure by adding, renaming, or reordering columns. This helps align the workflow with the team’s specific project requirements.

  1. Tags Tab: 
Organize and filter project tasks with Kerika's customizable tags. This image showcases the Tags tab, allowing you to create and manage tags to categorize tasks by priority, type, or any custom label. Quickly find and highlight the tasks that need your attention with Kerika's powerful task management features

Facilitates task categorization by creating, managing, and applying tags. Tags make it easier to filter tasks by priority, type, or other custom labels, improving task organization and retrieval.

Now, let’s dive into how the team uses these task cards to break down the entire project management process into manageable steps. We will show you how you can use this feature to break down each tasks into an actionable item. 

Break Down Tasks Into Manageable Steps

Task cards serve as the central hub where you and your team can capture and organize all the necessary details for completing a task. Here’s how to use them effectively:

  1. Add Key Details: 
Keep every project task organized with Kerika's detailed task cards. This image showcases the Details tab within a task card, allowing you to add descriptions, requirements, and other key information. Ensure clear communication and avoid misunderstandings by capturing all essential details within Kerika's comprehensive task cards

Start by clearly defining the task’s objectives and any steps required for completion. For example, for a homepage design task, outline the layout and content requirements.

  1. Track Progress: 
Effortlessly track project progress with Kerika's task status updates. This image showcases the Set Status feature, allowing you to quickly mark tasks as Ready, In Progress, Needs Review, Completed, or more. Stay informed about your project's progress and identify potential bottlenecks with Kerika's intuitive status tracking

Update the task’s progress by marking it as “In Progress,” “Needs Review,” or “Completed” so everyone can stay informed about its status.

  1. Set Deadlines: 
Ensure timely project completion with Kerika's easy deadline setting feature. This image showcases how to quickly assign due dates to each task, helping your team stay on schedule and avoid delays. Maintain a clear timeline and keep your projects on track with Kerika's intuitive deadline management

Assign a specific due date to each task to ensure that deadlines are met and nothing gets delayed.

  1. Break Tasks Into Actionable Steps: 
Improve task management by breaking down projects into actionable steps with Kerika's checklist feature. This image demonstrates how to add subtasks to each task card, ensuring every detail is accounted for and nothing gets overlooked. Keep your team organized and focused with Kerika's detailed checklist capabilities

Decompose complex tasks into smaller, manageable steps. For example, “Create homepage content” might include subtasks like writing copy, selecting images, and designing the layout.

  1. Use Tags For Clarity: 
Enhance clarity and organization with Kerika's flexible tagging system. This image showcases how to assign custom tags to project tasks, allowing you to easily filter and group tasks by category, priority, or type. Streamline your workflow and stay focused on what matters most with Kerika's versatile tagging capabilities

Use Tags to categorize tasks. You can prioritize by urgency or group tasks by themes like “Design,” “Development,” or “Testing.”

  1. Attach Files: 
Streamline your workflow with integrated file management in Kerika. This image showcases how to easily upload existing files, create new Google Docs, and link external resources directly within each task card. Keep all project materials organized and accessible to your team, improving collaboration and productivity with Kerika's seamless integration

Keep all project resources organized by attaching files directly to the task card. Upload design mockups, reports, or PDFs, create new Google Docs or Kerika Canvases, or link external resources – all in one place. This ensures your team can quickly access everything they need without wasting time searching through emails or folders.

  1. Maintain Focused Communication: 
Enhance team collaboration with Kerika's focused communication features. This image showcases the Chat tab within a task card, allowing team members to discuss specific tasks and share updates in real-time. Keep conversations organized and accessible, improving communication and project efficiency with Kerika's built-in chat

Use the Chat tab to keep all discussions tied to specific tasks, ensuring that communication is clear and easy to track.

  1. Assign Team Members: 
Improve accountability with Kerika's easy team member assignment. This image showcases how to assign specific team members to each task, ensuring everyone knows their responsibilities. Streamline your workflow and enhance team accountability with Kerika's intuitive task assignment features

Assign each task to specific team members, so it’s clear who is responsible for what. This enhances accountability and ensures tasks move forward efficiently.

  1. Set Task Priority for Clear Focus:
Maintain clear focus with Kerika's task prioritization settings. This image showcases how to easily set the priority level for each task (Normal, High Priority, Critical), ensuring your team knows where to focus their efforts. Keep your projects on track and meet critical deadlines with Kerika's efficient task prioritization

Prioritizing tasks is key to keeping your project on track, and the Set Priority feature makes this effortless. You can assign one of three levels to each task:

  • Normal: For routine tasks that can proceed without urgency.
  • High Priority: For tasks requiring quick action or increased focus from the team.
  • Critical: For time-sensitive or high-impact tasks that demand immediate attention.

By leveraging these features, task cards help your team stay organized, collaborate seamlessly, and ensure no important detail is overlooked. With these steps in place, managing your project becomes easier and more effective.

Set Up Your Kerika Account

Getting started with Kerika is quick, simple, and sets the stage for organizing your project workflow seamlessly. Here’s how you can set up your account and get started on the right foot:

Signing Up is Free and Easy

  1. Go to kerika.com and click the Sign Up button.
  1. Choose the account type that works best for you:
    • If you use Google Workspace, select the SIGN UP WITH GOOGLE option.
    • If you’re an Office 365 user, opt for SIGN UP WITH MICROSOFT.
    • You can also choose SIGN UP WITH BOX for file storage integration.
  2. Follow the prompts, and you’ll be ready to go in moments—no credit card required, and you’ll receive a free 30-day trial for your team.

A Global Workspace for Everyone

Kerika supports 38 languages, so you and your team can work in the language you’re most comfortable with, creating a truly inclusive experience.

Create Your First Board

Once you’ve signed up, it’s time to create your first board and bring your project management workflow to life. Here’s how:

  1. Click “Create New Board”: From the Kerika dashboard, select the option to create a new board.
  2. Choose the Board Type: For project management, select the Task Board template. This comes preloaded with columns like “To Do,” “Doing,” and “Completed.”
  1. Name Your Board: Give your board a name that reflects your project, such as “Website Redesign” or “Marketing Plan.”
  2. Customize Your Workspace: Add or rename columns to suit your workflow, and start adding tasks to keep your team aligned.

You now have a fully functional, visual workspace ready to help you track progress, manage tasks, and foster collaboration within your team.

Wrapping Up: Your Blueprint for Project Success

Mastering project management isn’t just about completing tasks; it’s about creating a system that keeps your team on the same page, fosters collaboration, and ensures every milestone is met. With a detailed workflow and the right tools, you can stay organized, productive, and focused on achieving your goals.

This board demonstrates how every aspect of your project can be broken into actionable steps. By prioritizing tasks, tracking progress, and using features like task cards to manage details, you’ll ensure nothing gets overlooked.Kerika isn’t just a tool; it’s a framework to streamline teamwork, maintain accountability, and bring your project vision to life. Ready to take the next step? Start building your board, organize your tasks, and watch your projects succeed with Kerika!

Highlighting Tasks: Stay Focused on What Matters

Technology

A busy board can sometimes feel like a maze, especially when you’re juggling tasks with varying priorities. The Highlight Feature makes it easy to cut through the noise, letting you filter and visually emphasize tasks that meet specific criteria.

Here’s how to use this feature to stay on top of your projects:

How to Use the Highlight Feature

Screenshot showcasing Kerika's powerful Highlight feature, accessed via the Highlight icon on the board menu. The image displays the 'HIGHLIGHT TASKS ON THIS BOARD' panel, revealing both predefined filters ('What's assigned to me', 'What needs attention', 'What's overdue', etc.) and extensive 'Custom highlight' options (by assignee, status, due date, priority, tags). This allows users to instantly cut through the clutter on busy project boards and focus precisely on the tasks that matter most to them, enhancing personal productivity and workflow flexibility. The high degree of customizability ensures users can tailor their view to perfectly match their specific needs and work style.

1. Access the Highlight Option

Click the Highlight Icon on your board.

2. Choose What to Highlight

Select from predefined options or create custom filters:

  • What’s assigned to me: Instantly see all the tasks assigned to you, so you can stay on top of your responsibilities.
  • What needs attention: Highlights tasks that may require follow-up or have upcoming deadlines, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
  • What’s marked as High Priority or Critical: Focus on tasks that are essential to the project’s success.
  • What’s overdue: Clearly identifies tasks that are past their due dates, helping you address delays quickly.
  • Custom Highlight: Create tailored filters by combining parameters like assignees, task status, due dates, priorities, and tags. You can use one or multiple filters at a time to find out what matters to you most on the board.

Why It Works

  • Focus on Your Tasks with “What’s Assigned to Me”Filter tasks assigned to you to concentrate on your responsibilities without getting sidetracked by other items on the board. It’s an efficient way to stay on top of your personal workload.
  • Identify Urgent Work with “What Needs Attention”Highlight tasks that require immediate focus, whether due to an upcoming deadline or stalled progress. This filter helps you spot bottlenecks and maintain project momentum.
  • Stay on Top of Critical Work with “What’s Marked as High Priority or Critical”High-priority tasks demand attention. This option ensures that crucial work gets the focus it deserves, helping you drive the project toward success.
  • Address Overdue Items with “What’s Overdue”Quickly identify overdue tasks and take action by reallocating resources or following up with team members to bring them back on track.
  • Customize Your Workflow with Custom HighlightsThe Custom Highlight feature allows you to set multiple conditions, such as showing tasks assigned to a specific person, marked as “Needs Review,” and due within a week. Tailor these settings to create a personalized focus view that suits your specific workflow.

Conclusion

With the Highlight Feature, you can cut through distractions and focus on what matters, ensuring a clear and efficient workflow. Whether managing your workload or overseeing the entire team, highlights help you stay productive and focused.

How to Build an Effective Help Desk Workflow: A Step-by-Step Guide

Uncategorized

A well-designed help desk workflow is the backbone of exceptional customer support. It ensures smooth communication, quicker issue resolution, and higher user satisfaction. Whether handling internal requests or external customer inquiries, an efficient workflow helps teams stay organized and focused on delivering a seamless support experience.

However, creating an effective workflow isn’t without its challenges. Teams often struggle with issues like lost tickets, unclear task prioritization, and bottlenecks in communication. Without a structured system, resolving customer issues promptly can feel overwhelming, leading to frustrated users and dissatisfied teams.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the essential steps to build a help desk workflow, address potential concerns that could hinder its success, and introduce you to the right tools to create a workflow that truly works:

See how Kerika streamlines help desk workflows with its visual Kanban board. This example demonstrates efficient request management, clear task prioritization, and seamless team collaboration, resulting in quicker issue resolution and happier customers. Try Kerika's intuitive interface and customizable workflows to transform your support operations

Click on this image to see an example of how a team has built a powerful Help Desk

Essential Steps and Common Pitfalls to Build a Solid Help Desk Workflow

A well-defined Help Desk workflow is crucial for smooth support operations, reduced response times, and exceptional user satisfaction. To establish a robust and efficient Help Desk workflow, follow these key steps:

1. Define Clear Objectives and Scope

Identify the primary purpose of your workflow. Are you addressing internal issues, external support, or both? Clearly define the scope to align priorities and set realistic goals. Establish service-level agreements (SLAs) to set expectations for response and resolution times.

Watch out for: unclear objectives that can lead to inefficient workflow and poor user satisfaction.

2. Build a Comprehensive Knowledge Base

Create a valuable resource for your team and users by analyzing recurring problems and developing clear, searchable content such as FAQs, step-by-step guides, and troubleshooting tips.

Heads up: ineffective knowledge sharing can lead to longer resolution times and frustration.

3. Centralize Request Handling

Create a single repository to manage all incoming requests, ensuring no issue is missed. This centralized system eliminates the risk of scattered data and helps maintain an organized approach to issue resolution.

Look out for: chaotic request handling without a centralized system, leading to missed or duplicated efforts.

4. Categorize and Prioritize Tasks

Break down requests by urgency, type, or department. Categorizing tasks helps your team focus on high-priority issues while keeping lower-priority requests visible and on track.

Be aware: manual categorization can be error-prone and inconsistent, leading to delays in addressing critical issues.

5. Set Clear Responsibilities and Roles

Assign specific roles for team members to ensure accountability. Define who handles first-line queries, who escalates and resolves complex issues, and who is responsible for knowledge base updates.

Keep in mind: ambiguity in roles and responsibilities can lead to confusion and delays.

6. Monitor and Evaluate Performance

Track key metrics like resolution time, response time, and customer satisfaction. Regularly evaluate your team’s performance and gather feedback from users to identify areas of improvement.

Don’t forget: limited visibility into workflow performance can make it challenging to identify and address bottlenecks.

Using the Right Tools to Overcome Help Desk Challenges

A clear and organized help desk system is essential to ensuring efficient issue resolution, and this visual workspace demonstrates how challenges can be tackled head-on. Let’s take a quick look at how this team is managing their workflow to stay ahead.

This image showcases how Kerika's visual board helps centralize requests, prioritize tasks, and streamline team collaboration, leading to faster response times and improved customer satisfaction. Discover how Kerika's features can transform your support operations and boost team productivity

Explore How This Demo Board Brings theHelpdesk workflow to Life

This board offers a straightforward view of tasks across different stages. Requests are logged under “Things to Do,” where they’re categorized and prioritized based on urgency. 

Tasks move seamlessly to the “Doing” column when in progress, allowing the team to focus on active issues without losing sight of what’s coming next. Completed tasks are archived in the “Completed” section, giving a sense of progress while keeping the workspace uncluttered.

Visual labels like “Needs Review,” “In Progress,” and “Needs Rework” make it easy to spot tasks that require immediate action, while due dates ensure nothing slips through the cracks. By centralizing requests, organizing them effectively, and creating a clear workflow, this team avoids the chaos of scattered communication tools like email or chat.

Next, we’ll dive deeper into how this workspace works, breaking down its features to show you how to build an effective help desk system for your team:

Take a Closer Look at This Help Desk Workflow Board

Explore How This Demo Board Works

This Help Desk workflow board is a prime example of how structured organization and a clear layout can simplify managing support tasks. Each section is purposefully designed to make handling requests seamless while promoting accountability and collaboration.

1. Capture and Organize Every Request

The “Things to Do” column is the starting point, where all incoming requests are captured. From resetting passwords to troubleshooting connectivity issues, every task is a single actionable item that ensures no request is missed. This centralized approach provides clarity and allows the team to prioritize effectively.

2. Tailor Workflow Stages to Your Needs

The columns represent different stages of task progress, such as “Things to Do,” “Doing,” and “Completed.” These can be renamed, reordered, or customized to fit your team’s specific workflow, making transitions between stages intuitive and efficient.

3. Control Access and Permissions

Manage who can view and edit the board by assigning roles. Team members can be given editing privileges for updating tasks, while stakeholders can be limited to viewing progress. This eliminates confusion, ensures responsibilities are clear, and keeps the workflow secure.

4. Centralize Communication

Team discussions happen directly within the board. Instead of juggling emails or chat tools, you can comment on specific tasks to clarify details or provide updates. This keeps all communication relevant, accessible, and linked to the appropriate task.

5. Streamline Resource Sharing

With file upload capabilities, user manuals, troubleshooting guides, and other resources can be attached to tasks. This eliminates the time wasted searching for scattered documents and ensures that everyone has access to the materials they need.

6. Prioritize with Clarity

Prioritizing tasks is effortless with built-in labels for urgency. Whether it’s marking tasks as “Critical,” “High Priority,” or “Normal,” these visual indicators ensure the team knows what to address first, keeping the workflow on track.

7. Maintain Focus with Filters

Filters allow you to quickly sort and identify tasks that need immediate attention. Whether you’re looking for overdue tasks, unassigned items, or issues flagged for review, these filters ensure nothing important is overlooked.

8. Break Down Tasks for Better Clarity

Manage every detail of help desk requests with Kerika's comprehensive task cards. This image demonstrates Kerika's features for adding descriptions, checklists, priorities, deadlines, and file attachments to each task. Improve team communication, ensure accountability, and streamline issue resolution with Kerika's powerful task management

Check out this the task card

Breaking down tasks into smaller, actionable steps is essential for maintaining clarity and ensuring smooth execution. The task card from the demo board centralizes all relevant information, making it easier to manage tasks efficiently. Here’s how it helps:

  • Details Tab: Provides a clear task description and objectives, ensuring all team members understand the scope and purpose of the task (e.g., installing software on a user’s computer).
  • Checklists: Breaks tasks into actionable steps, such as downloading software, activating the license, testing functionality, and providing user training.
  • Priority and Deadlines: Helps prioritize tasks (e.g., Critical, High Priority) and displays deadlines prominently to ensure timely completion.
  • Role Assignments: Assigns tasks to specific team members, promoting accountability and transparency.
  • File Attachments: Centralizes resources like installation packages, manuals, and license keys, eliminating time wasted searching for files.
  • Comments: Facilitates task-specific communication to keep discussions focused and relevant.
  • Status Updates: Tracks progress with labels like In Progress, Needs Review, or Blocked, keeping the team aligned.
  • Tags and Categories: Organizes tasks with labels (e.g., Troubleshooting, Security Audit) for easy filtering and management.

With all the tools and features designed to streamline your Help Desk process, Kerika ensures that you can manage tasks, collaborate efficiently, and maintain centralized information for your team. 

Whether it’s prioritizing critical tasks, tracking progress, or fostering team communication, Kerika provides the perfect solution to simplify and execute your workflow effectively.

Wrapping Up: 

By following a structured approach, defining objectives, establishing a knowledge base, prioritizing tasks, and fostering collaboration, you can streamline your operations and deliver exceptional support to your users.

Whether you’re addressing urgent IT issues or planning long-term support initiatives, Kerika ensures your Help Desk runs smoothly. Get started today and see the difference an organized, efficient workflow can make!

Archived vs Active Boards: Simplify Your Workspace

Technology

Managing multiple projects can quickly lead to a cluttered workspace, making it challenging to stay focused on what matters most. Archiving boards offers an easy way to move completed or inactive projects out of sight while keeping them accessible for future reference.

Here’s a closer look at how archiving boards can help you stay organized:

How to Archive Boards

1. Move a Board to Archive

Screenshot demonstrating the simple process to archive a board in Kerika, helping users declutter their workspace. The image displays the main boards view, highlighting the 'Test Board' card. An arrow points from its three-dot menu to the 'BOARD ACTIONS' dropdown, specifically selecting 'Move to Archive'. This intuitive feature allows teams to easily hide completed or inactive projects, streamlining their view to focus on current priorities without losing access to past work.
  • Click the three dots on the board you want to archive.
  • Select Move to Archive from the dropdown menu.

2. Access Archived Boards

Screenshot illustrating how easily users can access archived boards in Kerika. The image shows the main dashboard view with an arrow pointing from the 'Include from Archive' checkbox in the left sidebar. This action reveals the previously hidden 'Test Board', now marked as archived, demonstrating that archived projects remain readily available for reference or reactivation. This feature ensures valuable project history is never lost, supporting long-term knowledge management alongside a clean, focused workspace.
  • Use the Include from Archive checkbox in your Home view to display archived boards.
  • Retrieve archived boards anytime for reference or reuse.

When to Archive Boards

  • Project Completion: Once a project is finished and doesn’t require active management, archive its board to clear your workspace.
  • Inactive Projects: Temporarily archive boards for projects that are on hold or waiting for approval.
  • Focus on Active Tasks: Archiving keeps your Home view streamlined, ensuring only current and relevant tasks are visible.

Why It Works

  • Declutter Your Workspace: Focus only on active boards and tasks.
  • Quick Access to Past Projects: Safely store completed or paused boards for future reference.
  • Streamlined Workflow: Keep your Home view neat and organized for better productivity.

Conclusion

Archiving boards is a simple yet effective way to declutter your workspace, allowing you to focus on what matters most while keeping past projects accessible. Whether it’s completed tasks or paused initiatives, archiving ensures your workflow remains streamlined and organized without losing valuable information.

How to Build a Winning Business Model: A Step-by-Step Guide

Technology

A solid business model is the cornerstone of any thriving business: it outlines how your company creates, delivers, and sustains value for customers and stakeholders alike.

However, crafting a robust business model is a complex process. It requires understanding your customers, defining your core value proposition, exploring revenue streams, and coordinating with teams and stakeholders.

We understand these hurdles because we’ve faced them too, and based upon our experiences over the years we have created a simple, workable model that you can benefit from as well.

In this article, we’ll guide you through practical steps to build a business model that works

See how Kerika helps teams visually map and manage every step of their business model, from identifying customer segments to establishing key partnerships. This intuitive Kanban board provides real-time collaboration, customizable workflows, and clear task assignments, ensuring everyone stays aligned and projects stay on track. Try Kerika today and transform your business planning process!

Click on this image to see an example of how a team is building their business model.

Essential steps to build a solid business model:

1. Identify Customer Segments

Start by understanding your audience. Breaking down your potential customers into specific segments based on demographics, behaviors, and preferences can help you to design offerings that truly resonate with different communities of people who could use your product.

Research is key here; survey potential customers or analyze existing data to pinpoint who you’re serving and what they need most. You can use the available data on Statista to better understand who you’re going cater to.

Analysing Google Trends and using Google Analytics makes your segmentation more reliable and accurate.

2. Draft Value Propositions

Once you know who your customers are, it’s time to figure out what makes your product or service stand out. Your value proposition should clearly address the problems your audience faces and how you solve them better than anyone else. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect the first time;this step benefits from iteration and customer feedback.

Here’s a template we created to give you a good headstart in drafting a solid value proposition. Feel free to download, modify, and create your own version of it: Value Proposition Template

3. Explore Channel Options

Deciding how to reach your audience is just as important as defining what you offer. Explore a mix of online and offline channels to see which works best for connecting with your customers. Think about social media, email campaigns, partnerships, or even in-person events, depending on your audience’s preferences.

Semrush has a great article that can help you choose the best channel for your business: https://www.semrush.com/blog/digital-marketing-channels/

4. Research Customer Relationship Types

Customer relationships are more than just transactions; they’re about engagement and loyalty. Consider how you’ll interact with your audience. Will it be personal and hands-on, automated and scalable, or community-driven? The right approach depends on your product and customer expectations.

If you’re unsure where to begin, a structured approach can make this process easier. To help you get started, we’ve created a detailed guide that walks you through researching customer relationship types effectively.

Download the Guide: How to Research Customer Relationship Types

This guide covers everything from identifying customer personas to leveraging analytics and mapping customer journeys. Use it to refine your strategies and build meaningful connections that foster long-term loyalty.

5. Explore Revenue Generation Methods

Revenue streams are the foundation of any sustainable business model. Whether it’s through subscriptions, one-time purchases, or advertising, explore various options to see what aligns with your offering and audience. Don’t be afraid to test different methods before finalizing the best approach.

To help you dive deeper into this process, we’ve created a comprehensive guide that outlines actionable steps to explore, validate, and optimize your revenue generation methods.

Download the Guide: How to Explore Revenue Generation Methods

This guide will walk you through everything from understanding your value exchange to leveraging analytics and diversifying revenue streams. Use it as a roadmap to create sustainable and scalable revenue strategies for your business.

6. Plan Key Activities

Think about the core activities your business needs to perform to deliver value. This could include production, marketing, customer support, or innovation. Breaking these activities down into smaller, actionable steps will help you stay organized and focused on what truly matters.

7. Identify Key Resources

Every business requires resources, whether physical, intellectual, or human. Identify the ones essential to delivering your value proposition effectively. This might include tools, technology, or skilled team members. Knowing your resource needs early can save time and money later.

8. Explore Potential Partnerships

Collaborations can amplify your capabilities. Look for partnerships that complement your strengths or fill in gaps. These could be with suppliers, distributors, or even other businesses that share a similar audience. Partnerships often lead to creative solutions and expanded opportunities.

9. Refine Value Propositions

Your value proposition isn’t set in stone;it should evolve as you learn more about your customers and market trends. Regularly revisit this step, incorporating feedback and insights to keep your offering relevant and competitive.

10. Choose Channel Strategies

Once you’ve tested different channels, focus on the ones that work best. Optimize these channels for consistent communication and delivery of value. This might mean doubling down on a social media platform or refining your email outreach strategy.

11. Define Customer Relationship Strategy

Customer relationships thrive when they’re built on intentionality. Whether you’re engaging through personalized emails, loyalty programs, or community forums, ensure your approach reflects your brand values and keeps customers coming back.

12. Finalize Revenue Streams

After testing and refining your revenue strategies, settle on the ones that align with your business goals. A solid revenue model ensures financial sustainability while supporting future growth.

13. Establish Key Partnerships

Formalizing partnerships can add significant value to your business. Look for opportunities that align with your goals, whether it’s resource sharing, co-marketing, or distribution agreements. Strong partnerships often open doors to new markets or capabilities.

14. Finalize Customer Segments

This is the culmination of your research. Synthesize data from market analysis, demographic studies, and customer feedback to clearly define your target groups. By understanding the unique needs and preferences of these segments, you can tailor your products or services to deliver maximum value. Finalizing this step ensures precision in your offerings and marketing strategies.

Avoid These Pitfalls When Building Your Business Model

Even when following the essential steps to build a business model is crucial, the process often brings hidden challenges. Addressing the following pitfalls can set the stage for smoother execution and pave the way to simplify and enhance the process.

1. Struggling with Incomplete Customer Insights

Understanding your audience is foundational, but fragmented data often leads to unreliable segmentation. Without a centralized way to consolidate customer insights, businesses risk creating value propositions that miss the mark. Without a proper tool to organize and analyze data can stall progress and leave teams guessing instead of making informed decisions.

2. Drafting Value Propositions Without Collaboration

Value propositions thrive on iteration and feedback, yet miscommunication or disconnected teams often lead to underwhelming results. Without a platform for seamless collaboration, valuable ideas get lost, and refining your proposition becomes a lengthy, frustrating process.

3. Choosing Channels Without Real-Time Visibility

When exploring ways to reach your audience, businesses often struggle to track the effectiveness of various channels. Teams working in silos may choose conflicting approaches, creating inefficiencies and missed opportunities. A clear, visual way to experiment with and evaluate channel options is key.

4. Misaligned Customer Relationship Strategies

Customer engagement requires intentionality, but disconnected workflows can lead to misaligned or poorly implemented strategies. Without a structured system to map customer journeys and relationship types, businesses risk alienating their audience instead of building loyalty.

5. Overlooking Revenue Stream Validation

Testing revenue streams is essential, but it can quickly become a fragmented process without a centralized approach. Relying only on spreadsheets often results in missed opportunities to identify the most profitable and scalable options.

6. Losing Track of Key Activities and Resources

Defining core activities and essential resources is critical for success, yet many teams find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of tasks. Without a tool to break these down into manageable steps, it’s easy to lose focus on what truly matters.

7. Coordination Issues with Partnerships

Exploring and managing partnerships requires clarity and accountability, but poor communication and misaligned expectations often lead to friction. A system to track partnership opportunities and formalize collaborations can make the difference between success and stagnation.

Using The Right Tools

Struggling to build a business model? This Kerika board shows how to overcome common challenges like incomplete customer insights and misaligned strategies. With real-time visibility, collaborative workflows, and easy task management, Kerika empowers your team to build a winning business model. Explore Kerika's features and see how it simplifies complex processes.

Check how this company overcomes Business Modeling challenges

Check out how this virtual workspace is designed for the each step of the business modelling process. From identifying customer segments to finalizing revenue streams, this ensures that every detail is accounted for while making it simple to see the progress at a glance.

This workspace is entirely created in Kerika. Tools like Kerika provide an intuitive framework that makes it simple to plan, execute, and refine your strategy.

Ready to dive deeper into how this workspace works for business modelling? Let’s get started!

Take a Closer Look at This Company’s Business Model Board

Customize your business model workflow with Kerika. This image showcases Kerika's adaptable Kanban board with features like customizable columns, easy task creation, and team collaboration tools. Tailor the board to fit your unique processes and empower your team to build a successful business model. Get started with Kerika and experience the power of flexible workflow management.

1. Add Tasks for Each Business Model Step

Drill down into the details of each business model step with Kerika's task cards. This image shows how to add objectives, key components, and collaboration points to each task, ensuring clarity and alignment across your team. Features like checklists, attachments, and chat keep everything organized and accessible. Supercharge your business model planning with Kerika's comprehensive task management.

At the core of this process are the tasks that make up your workflow. This is where new tasks like “Identify Customer Segments” or “Draft Value Propositions.” created to break down each step into actionable tasks ensures that no part of your business model is overlooked.

2. Customize Columns to Match Your Workflow

Adapt Kerika to your team's workflow with customizable columns. This image demonstrates how you can easily rename, add, move, or hide columns to perfectly match your business model process. Create a visual workspace that reflects the way your team works best and drives efficiency. See the power of a truly customizable Kanban board with Kerika.

Each column represents a stage of the business modeling process. You can rename, add new, or rearrange them to suit your workflow. This customization allows your board to adapt to the unique requirements of your business model.

3. Manage Board Access

Maintain control and security with Kerika's board access management. This image shows how to easily assign roles (Admin, Member, Visitor) to team members, ensuring the right people have the right permissions. Streamline your team's workflow and protect sensitive information with Kerika's robust access control features. Experience secure and efficient collaboration with Kerika.

This allows you to manage who’s incharge of the board, who can make changes, and who can only view the board. This avoids the overlapping of responsibilities and ensures that every stakeholder knows their role in the process.

4. Communicate With Everyone

Keep your team connected with Kerika's built-in board chat. This image highlights the real-time communication features within Kerika, eliminating the need for scattered emails and ensuring everyone stays informed. Foster seamless collaboration, make quick decisions, and keep your business model planning on track. See how Kerika simplifies team communication

Use the Board Chat to address your team and help them focus on the goals. This ensures everyone stays informed and aligned, eliminating the confusion caused by fragmented communication channels.

5. Collective File-Sharing

Streamline your workflow with Kerika's collective file sharing. This image showcases Kerika's seamless integration with Google Workspace, allowing you to easily upload, create, and link documents directly within your business model board. Keep all your essential files organized and accessible, boosting team productivity. Experience the power of integrated file management with Kerika

This is where you can share files with everyone on your team without needing additional permissions. This keeps resources organized and eliminates the hassle of manual sharing, streamlining collaboration.

6. Make Sure Nothing Gets Overlooked

Never miss a deadline with Kerika's powerful task highlighting. This image illustrates how to customize highlights based on assignee, status, due date, priority, and tags, ensuring critical tasks get the attention they deserve. Stay organized, prioritize effectively, and keep your business model on track. See how Kerika's smart highlighting keeps you focused on what matters most

This is where you filter out tasks that matter to you the most. Find out what’s assigned to you, what needs attention, or what’s overdue to prioritize your workflow effectively. This helps you ensure that critical tasks don’t get overlooked and helps your team stay focused on high-priority objectives.

7. Adjust the Board to Fit Your Needs

The settings menu in the top right corner of your board is packed with options to fine-tune your workspace. Here’s a closer look at its seven key features and how they can help your team.

  • Overview
Get a complete overview of your business model progress with Kerika. This image showcases Kerika's dashboard with key metrics like completed tasks, overdue tasks, and board description. Easily manage board settings, export data to Excel, and archive old boards. Experience the power of data-driven decision-making with Kerika's comprehensive overview

The Overview tab provides a quick summary of your board’s status, including completed, ongoing, and overdue tasks. You can name your board, write a description for added context, and even manage translations to accommodate team members working in different languages. Archiving old boards or exporting tasks into Excel is just a click away, making it easy to keep your workflow organized and accessible.

  • Settings
Control your workflow with Kerika's customizable settings. This image displays Kerika's settings panel where you can manage board privacy, set Work-in-Progress (WIP) limits, enable auto-numbering of tasks, and manage tags. Tailor Kerika to your specific needs and optimize your business model planning process. Experience the power of flexible settings with Kerika

The Settings tab offers control over privacy and functionality. You can decide who can view the board, restrict it to team members, open it to anyone with the link, or keep it private. Features like Work-in-Progress (WIP) limits help maintain focus by capping the number of tasks in each column, while options like auto-numbering tasks or enabling tags allow you to further refine your workflow.

  • Columns
Structure your workflow with Kerika's customizable columns. This image showcases Kerika's Columns settings where you can add, rename, and rearrange columns to perfectly match your business model process. Create a visual workspace that reflects the way your team works best and drives efficiency. See the power of a truly customizable Kanban board with Kerika.

In the Columns tab, you can customize your board’s structure by adding new columns for workflow stages like “Backlog” or “On Hold.” You can also rename existing columns or rearrange them to better reflect your team’s process. Deleting unnecessary columns keeps the board clean and focused, ensuring only relevant stages are visible.

  • Tags
Organize your tasks with Kerika's customizable tags. This image showcases Kerika's Tags settings where you can create and manage tags to categorize and prioritize your business model tasks. Filter and highlight tasks based on tags to stay focused and efficient. See how Kerika's smart tagging helps you manage complex workflows

The Tags tab helps categorize tasks for better organization. You can create new tags like “Critical,” “Feedback,” or “Milestone” to sort tasks efficiently. Managing tags is just as simple, edit existing ones or delete those that are no longer relevant to keep the workspace tidy and easy to navigate.

Break Down Tasks Into Manageable Steps (illustration of task card)

Break down complex tasks with Kerika's detailed task cards. This image showcases Kerika's features for adding objectives, checklists, attachments, chat, and history to each task. Manage priorities, assign team members, set due dates, and track progress, all in one place. Experience the power of comprehensive task management with Kerika

Task cards are where your team can organize all the details needed to complete specific steps of your business model. Here’s how you can use them effectively:

  • Add key details like the objective, questions to address, and methods for completing the task. For example, outline research methods or demographic analysis for defining customer segments.
  • Update the task’s progress by marking it as ongoing, needing review, or completed to keep everyone informed about its current state.
  • Assign deadlines to ensure tasks stay on track. For example, set a due date for completing customer segmentation research.
  • Break tasks into smaller, actionable steps. Add subtasks like conducting surveys, analyzing trends, or reviewing data to ensure nothing is overlooked.
  • Categorize tasks using labels to prioritize or group them by themes like collaboration, documentation, or high importance.
  • Share important files directly within tasks so your team can access resources like reports or presentations without searching elsewhere.
  • Keep discussions focused by adding comments or updates specific to the task, ensuring communication is clear and organized.
  • Assign teammates to tasks so everyone knows who’s responsible, promoting accountability and efficiency.

With all these features designed to simplify the business modeling process, streamlined collaboration, centralized information, and actionable task management, Kerika provides everything you need to plan and execute your strategy effectively.

Ready to get started? Let’s walk you through setting up your Kerika account and creating your first board!


Set Up Your Kerika Account

Setting up your Kerika account and creating your first board is a straightforward process that lets you dive right into planning your business model. Here’s how to get started:

  1. Signing up is free and easy at kerika.com:
  1. If you already use Google Apps, click on the SIGN UP WITH GOOGLE button.
  2. If you are already using Office 365, click on the MICROSOFT button.

No additional setup is required, simply follow the prompts, and you’re in!

Kerika comes in 38 languages so you and everyone else can work in the most comfortable setup that you prefer!

Create Your First Board

  1. Once logged in, click on the Create a New Board button.
  2. Select the board type that best fits your needs (e.g., Task Board) and name your board.




You now have a visual workspace ready to help you organize tasks, track progress, and collaborate with your team, the next step is to customize the columns, add tasks, and start building your own business model.

Wrapping Up: Your Roadmap to Business Success

Building a business model can be a complex journey, but with a well-structured workflow and the right tools, you can simplify the process and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. This demo board illustrates how you can break down every critical aspect of your business into manageable tasks. From identifying customer segments to defining key activities and partnerships, every card offers a stepping stone toward creating a robust and actionable business strategy.

By following this approach, you can foster better collaboration, enhance organization, and maintain a clear focus on your goals. Whether you’re refining existing plans or starting from scratch, these cards and their methodologies provide a framework to tailor your own business model. Ready to take the next step? Start turning these insights into action and watch your business vision come to life!